Stocksite Analysis: Crestock 2008

At first glance, Crestock seems to be a very high quality and aspiring stock site, with a potential to shake the foundations of the establishment and an appealing website with many features.

That is looking at Crestock at first glance only. Behind their shiny surface, its an entirely different ball-game. According to their own statement, Crestock applies the toughest image criteria, based on an extensive market research of prospect requirements. It is a pity very little of this self-proclaimed differentiating potential becomes apparent – the lowest revenues for contributing photographers go hand in hand with low sales, senseless and contradicting rejection reasons, the longest review times around, and -with a few exceptions – a most unresponsive support service.

A lot of complaints are currently aimed at the Crestock team. Way too many for their small. if not minute team to deal with properly. And a lot of people would accept that, if the Crestock team would appear more open, sincere and just a tad more believable and less arrogant.

The uploading system on Crestock works efficiently, and is, as Crestock proclaims, indeed the fastest around. A shame, the waiting times before images are actually reviewed, effectively nullifies this impressive achievement.

Core statistics

• URL: http://www.crestock.com
• Revenues: Most sales on Crestock are based on the subscription model, at the undisputed lowest revenues of $0,25 per sale.
• Perks: A nice looking site, and Judge Ross, picking the best and the worst image of the day is a nice idea. Crestock’s uploading system is very effective, the fastest of all.
• Downsides: The apparent randomness of the reviewing process, including the excessive long waiting times.
• Upload limits: unlimited.
• Image requirements: According to Crestock: the highest around. According to a lot of contributors: sheer randomness and pal-politics.
• Review times: anywhere between 1 to 3 months
• Penalties: None known.
• Forum: Recently re-installed, and nice looking, but apart from adding to the list of complaints, almost no activity, with exception of spammers.
• Service level: Barely capable of handling all complaints
• Portfolio marketing: None.

Tips and tricks:

• Do not take rejections seriously. Rejections on Crestock are certified lacking grounds.
• Don’t expect anything. Reviewing takes ages, and so does waiting for Crestock to respond.
• If you want Crestock to act, you’ll have to take the initiative and sart a forum thread on the microstockgroup forum.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 27th, 2008 at 20:15 and is filed under Reviewing our agents and tagged with agency, Crestock, Stocksite analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.